National Zoo Agouti Briefly Escaped from the Small Mammal HouseYesterday shortly after 7 p.m., a male agouti escaped from his outdoor enclosure behind the Small Mammal House at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Agoutis are large beautiful rodents about the size of a large house cat. Zoo staff kept the animal in view and successfully herded him back into a contained space within 30 minutes. He is unharmed.

June 2015

06/15/2015

Clouded Leopards Born in Thailand Via Artificial InseminationFor only the second time, a litter of clouded leopard cubs has been born as the result of an artificial insemination. Pierre Comizzoli, reproductive physiologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), performed the artificial insemination in Thailand last March alongside Paweena Thuwanut, a former JoGayle Howard Postdoctoral Fellow at SCBI, and Wanlaya Tipkantha, a doctoral candidate at Chulalongkorn University, who also studied at SCBI. The two cubs were born at the Khao Khew Open Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand June 9.

SCBI Researchers Use Frozen Testes Tissue To Generate SpermResearchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) have generated mature sperm from frozen testicular tissue for the first time. Their findings were published in PLOS ONE today. The technique, called xenografting, has been successful in several domestic species but has never been done with frozen tissue before.

04/27/2015

Photo Release: National Zoo Scientists Artificially Inseminate Giant Panda Mei XiangAfter carefully monitoring the behavior of both its giant pandas and female Mei Xiang’s (may-SHONG) hormones for weeks, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and panda keepers performed two artificial inseminations within the last 24 hours. The first procedure started at 6 p.m. on April 26, and the second began at 7:30 this morning, April 27. Daily hormone reports showed Mei Xiang’s progesterone levels peaked Sunday morning, an indication that she was in estrus and able to become pregnant.

04/21/2015

National Zoo Prepares for Giant Panda Breeding Season with the Arrival of Frozen Semen from ChinaCaitlin Burrell, research scientist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, returned from China last night April 20, with frozen giant panda semen that had been stored at the Bifengxia Giant Panda Base’s cryopreservation bank. The sperm may be used for an artificial insemination on the Zoo’s female giant panda Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) when she goes into estrus this spring. This is the first time frozen semen has been transported from China to the National Zoo for breeding.

Photo Release: New Western Lowland Gorilla on Exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National ZooCalaya, a western lowland gorilla, is now on exhibit at the National Zoo. Keepers describe the 12-year-old female as confident and socially-savvy. She arrived at the National Zoo from the Woodland Park Zoo on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ western lowland gorilla Species Survival Plan. After arriving at the Zoo Feb. 25, Calaya spent 30 days in quarantine per standard procedure. For the past few days, keepers have been slowly introducing her to 22-year-old silverback male Baraka and females 32-year-old Mandara and 6-year-old Kibibi. Zoo visitors can see Calaya at the Great Ape House.

04/08/2015

New Rescue Lab for Endangered Amphibians Opens in PanamaSmithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) scientists working together as part of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (PARC) opened a new safe haven for endangered amphibians today, April 8. The state-of-the-art, $1.2 million amphibian center at STRI’s Gamboa field station is the largest amphibian conservation facility of its kind in the world.

Golden Frogs with Unique Skin Microbes Survive Exposure to Frog-Killing FungusA new study published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society by scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) found unique communities of skin bacteria on Panamanian golden frogs that survived chytridiomycosis (ki-TRID-io-MY-co-sis) infections. Chytridiomycosis is an amphibian fungal disease that has wiped out populations of many frog species around the world.

Newly Described Poison Dart Frog Hatched for the First Time in Human CareSmithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) scientists working as part of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project hatched the first Andinobates geminisae froglet born in human care. The tiny dart frog species only grows to 14 millimeters and was first collected and described last year from a small area in central Panama. Scientists collected two adults to evaluate the potential for maintaining the species in captivity as an insurance population.

Photo Release: Bao Bao's First Time Playing in the SnowAs the year’s first blanket of snow coated the Washington, D.C. area today, giant panda Bao Bao spent much of the morning playing in it for the very first time. The sixteen month-old panda cub tumbled down the hill in her outdoor enclosure, climbed trees and pounced on her mother Mei Xiang.